Colorado Rapids / MLS

Rapids' Shane O'Neill, Dillon Serna to play in MLS' first "Homegrown Game"

Colorado midfielder Dillon Serna, right, vies for the ball with Los Angeles forward Gyasi Zardes in a game earlier this season. (Karl Gehring, The Denver Post)

Rapids defender Shane O'Neill and midfielder Dillon Serna have been selected to play in the inaugural MLS "Homegrown Game" as a preliminary event to the league's All-Star Game in Portland.

MLS defines "homegrown" players as those who come through a team's youth system. O'Neill, 20, is from Boulder and signed with the Rapids two years ago, while Serna, 20, is from Brighton and signed last year.

O'Neill has been a fixture in the lineup since his rookie season with the first team last year, and Serna has become a regular this season.

The Homegrown Game, scheduled for Aug. 4, is new to the All-Star festivities. In the All-Star Game two days later, the MLS players will face German Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.

Fourteen Bayern players were part of national teams that played in the World Cup, including seven on the German team. Other Bayern players in the World Cup included Arjen Robben (Netherlands), Dante (Brazil) and Julian Green (U.S.).